If you haven't already noticed, my posts have taken on a bit of a theme this month. I was so touched by my new Flickr contact's images from Bangkok, Thailand, plus all the articles I've been reading about how to holiday shop for our families, friends, co-workers and now even our dogs and cats. It brought me to wonder how much more can we spend and on what before we have nothing left to give to those who truly are in need. Where does it end.
I know some of us have thoughts of a perfect Norman Rockwell or Currier and Ives or even a Thomas Kinkade Christmas. Others have small children that they can't let down. We'll also be hearing numerous sermons in our places of worship, of giving and receiving, all which lead up to our own expectations for the day.
When I moved to Virginia in 1991 to a house and outbuildings on three acres, it seems my outlook towards the Holiday really changed. Maybe it was the stillness outside of a barn full of Angora goats. Or the peace of a few lights twinkling in the windows of a farmhouse. Or the crisp breath of a baby calf as she drinks her formula from the pail. Maybe it was just the likeness to the original manger scene of Christ's birth that filled me with a longing for a simplicity of the season.
I live away from that farmhouse now but my love for animals hasn't changed. Maybe my holiday themed posts will help me nurture that longing for simplicity and remind me of what I can do in my life to live with less and help with more.
Photo courtesy of Mistifarang @ Flickr
Thank you, Toni.
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